Was very sorry to read of the death of Robert Legh. What a loss.  Thinking of you and the firm.

On behalf of the Covington family, I would like to express our most sincere condolences to the entire Bowmans family on Rob Legh’s passing.

Rob was a giant among us, a dear friend and consistently gracious at every turn. We will sorely miss the sparkle in his eye, his wise counsel and his large appetite for the very best in life.

At this difficult moment, please know that you and your colleagues are in our thoughts and prayers.

I have just heard of Rob Legh’s succumbing to Covid last night. It’s very sad news indeed. I liked and respected Rob a great deal. My deep and most sincere sympathies to all of you at Bowmans.

It was with deep sadness that I heard the news that Rob had passed away.  These past weeks must have been incredibly difficult for your firm and for his family.

Rob was a credit to the legal profession. He was an accomplished lawyer, an excellent leader and a kind and decent human being.

On behalf of all of the partners and staff at Fasken in Johannesburg, our sincere condolences to all at Bowmans.  We will make a donation to the Alexandra Education Committee to honour Rob’s contribution to the profession and the many worthy causes he supported.

I was horrified to hear just now the terrible news of Rob Legh’s death from Covid.

Whenever I met him he was incredibly charming (in large part because he was so authentic) and obviously impressive, with a modesty that belied his patently exceptional abilities. I am so, so sorry to hear this and please pass my condolences and those of colleagues here at HSF to his family and to all of you at Bowmans.

For his family, I cannot begin to imagine how horrendous their loss is. All I can hope is that over time their pride in him and his extraordinary standing as a lawyer and a person not just in South Africa but around the wider global legal community, will provide some level of comfort. I realise it will not begin to compensate for such an unfair and early loss (I think Rob was around my age: we certainly took over as chairs of our firms around the same time so I know how young he was).

For the team at Bowmans, I have some idea how shocking and distressing it is to lose a colleague, but to lose someone so respected, liked and such an influential role model will be really hard. I know enough of your firm to know that the sense of loss reflects the great culture in your firm which Rob helped to lead, and I know you will support each other through this terrible loss.

His death so young is patently a loss first and most tragically for his family, as well as for his colleagues, but also for the wider legal community in South Africa and internationally. I am truly sorry.

I have just learned of the tragic passing of Rob. I know everyone who knew him will be feeling this loss for a long time, and justifiably so.

I always admired Rob and will never forget the day we met.

All the CAs were corralled into a “meet the senior partners” lunch at Katy’s Palace. Good food, but an epic set up for awkward encounters. One of which I had with Rob, but it always brings a smile to my face.

As predicted, a small, but tightly spaced circle of nervous CAs had formed, clutching free drinks, avoiding any potential CLMs (‘career limiting moves’, in case your CA days are too far behind you to recall the acronym). A very dapper, very tall gentleman, wearing I believe a white fedora ambled his way into a gap and tried to make conversation with a few nearby CAs. None were having it and sought exits as soon as good manners allowed.

I thought (perhaps buoyed by my second free beer) that I should make the most of the day and tried to strike up a conversation with the be-hatted gentleman. I introduced myself and stuck out my hand and received a gracious and firm handshake. He introduced himself simply as ‘Rob’. In my nervousness to find something to talk about I quickly formed the view that since I was already almost a year into my articles, and would surely have seen this gent around the hallways, he must have come up from the Cape Town office for the lunch, and confidently asserted as much, adding (as evidence) that I’d never seen him around. To which Rob, in his disarming way, leaned his imposing height over my 5ft8 head and stated calmly, “Oh, no. I’m the chairman of the firm. I’ve been in my office a lot lately I guess.” At which point I took the lessons of my comrades, spluttered some goodbye and excused myself to the bar to drown my embarrassment.

Despite my bumblings Rob was always friendly to me, and when we bumped into each other at events after I’d left the firm would always give me the same gracious firm handshake and chat about where I was and how the firm was doing.

My condolences to you, and everyone at Bowmans.